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Constitution of the Victorian Independent State
The Constitution of the Victorian Independent State was the governing document for the Victorian Independent State. Written by Colonel Karl Afeld and the twenty five members of the VIS Parliament with heavy input from various groups across the Independent State, it was finally ratified in late . Text of the VIS Constitution Rights of Victorian Citizens All citizens of the Victorian Independent State are entitled to the following rights: *Freedom of speech and assembly, so long as the latter does not interfere with the proper operation of necessary services of the Independent State. *Freedom of worship, unless the religion is deemed as being a front for illegal or immoral activities. *Freedom to bear arms, unless the citizen has been convicted as being involved with illegal activities, operations to undermine the sovereignty of the Independent State, or deemed severely mentally ill, all by any court in any settlement aligned with the Independent State. The third is defined as being found not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill. *Right to vote unmolested, unless the citizen is incarcerated due to committing treason. *Right to a trial. *Right to not be punished in a needlessly brutal manner. For those crimes which are considered exceptionally heinous, the penalty shall be death. Powers of the VIS Central Government The following powers are vested solely in the central government (defined as the head of state/commander-in-chief of the military and parliament): *To raise a standing army under the following restrictions. **It may not exceed in size 4,000 men and 60 aircraft at any single time. **It will act mainly in the defense of the capital of Agley, and will only send troops to aid in combat on the frontier if their aid is requested, or if the danger is deemed a grave threat to the existence of this Independent State by unanimous vote of the elected officials, although the commander-in-chief of the armed forces may deem it a grave threat independently in the event of the death or disabling of all the Independent State's elected officials. In the case of deeming it a grave threat, Independent Military forces must leave once the threat has been nullified. **If engaged in combat alongside militia, VIS soldiers must follow the orders of militia officers unless they are unlawful or immoral. *To order the movement of forces of the Victorian Independent Military. *To equip the Victorian Independent Military to fulfill its mission. *The following actions require a unanimous parliamentary vote and certainty they will be for the good of the Independent State. **To create institutions under the control of the central government. **To form alliances and sign treaties with other governing entities. **To ratify laws. **To elect the head of state. Powers of the VIS' Constituent Settlement Governments The following powers are vested solely in the governments of those settlements that make up the Victorian Independent State: *To raise militias, with no limit upon their size, nor any input from the central government upon their movement, provided such militias are equipped by local funds. *To appoint local judges. *By two-thirds vote of settlement governments, to veto any law passed by the central government. *To ratify laws for their specific settlement, provided that they do not contradict this constitution or the laws passed by the central government. *To levy taxes upon their constituents, provided that one-fifth of the revenue from such taxes is sent to the central government, with the surplus being returned to the local government. *To expand in territory as needed. *To send non-voting representatives to the central government to voice the concerns of each specific settlement. Election of Central Government Officials *The election of members of the Victorian Independent State parliament shall take place in the twenty-five provinces of the Independent State, with the candidate winning the largest share of votes becoming the parliamentary representative for that province. **In the event the people of the province believe their elected representative is not representing their best interests, the province may organize an election to remove the parliament member from office and replace him with a new one. These two elections must take place at the same time, with those who vote to replace the current parliament also choosing their new member of parliament, so as to prevent a missing representative. *The election of the head of government of the Independent State will be performed among the members of parliament, who must have a unanimous vote to appoint him/her. **If the people of the Independent State believe the vote if their representatives has been ill-advised, they are permitted to hold a vote to remove the head of government from office, with a two-thirds majority of the people needed for the vote to succeed. Category:Safe Havens